Is this going to hold

[viperfish]

Sorry, not trying to be an ass. You obviously know your material. We probably took the thread away from its original intent just a little.

I would say the easiest way to deal with the stand design dilemma is to find a good welder leave it up to him or her. Most capable structural welders know their stuff so there should be no need of getting too technical. It will probably be overbuilt but that's not a bad thing.